Harry Potter and the Second War
by Kaurora
Summary: Harry's sixth year. New characters, new powers... Should be interesting... Sorry, not good at summaries!


Chapter 1  
  
Veiled Whispers  
  
A small sliver of light peeked through the gap in the curtained windows of Harry's room. The patch of light had gradually gotten larger and larger, and was now snaking its way across the covers of Harry's bed. Harry was in a deep and restless sleep.  
  
He was dreaming, as he had been since the end of his last year at Hogwarts, of an ancient stone archway with a mysterious black veil. Although there was no wind, or any sign of even the slightest breeze in the cold stone room of the dream, the black veil suspended in the archway was always fluttering slightly, as though it had just been touched. Harry could here whispers from somewhere beyond it, though looking around, he found no one. He couldn't quite hear what the whispering voices were saying, as it always was in these dreams, but as he drew nearer the whispers got louder and more distinct. Harry longed to hear what these people, lurking just out of sight, were saying. What did they want him to know?  
  
He was almost to the archway; he could almost make out the words. Little did Harry know that back in his bedroom in Privet Drive, where he lay sleeping, a single stream of light was creeping ever closer towards his face, threatening to wake him, and end his dream once again before he could discern why he kept coming back to this place every night.  
  
"Harry..." A familiar voice was calling to him. He was almost there, a few more steps and he would reach it, he'd be able to pull back the curtain and see them finally! He reached a hand forward to grasp the edge of the veil, when suddenly a bright light shone from somewhere very far away. Before he knew what was happening he was being pulled away from the archway and the room around him disappeared.  
  
Harry opened his eyes to see what had disturbed his slumber, and was blinded by the sunlight streaming in through his window. Frustrated, he stumbled out of bed and across to his window. He wrenched the hangings shut and blocked out the offending rays.  
  
He crawled back into bed and lay staring up at the ceiling and thinking. He had been so close! He knew that there was something very important that he needed to discover in these dreams, but what? He longed to pull back the veil. He longed to see his godfather there, smiling at him, waiting for him...  
  
Harry blinked and shook his head, trying to force the thought of Sirius out of his mind. There was a terrible hollowness, an emptiness that filled him. A gaping hole that had once been filled with the closest thing to a father Harry had ever known. Now all that was left was a feeling of eternal hopelessness. He tried not to dwell on his feelings of worry that he was doomed to loose those he loved. He couldn't think about it, it was too painful.  
  
Searching for something else to think about, Harry looked around his room, his gaze fell on his bedside clock telling him it was shortly past seven in the morning. Harry realized, with a sigh, what day it was. He was sixteen today, another year older.  
  
He also remembered that the results to his OWLs were due to come any day now. Anxiously he thought of what a perfect gift it would be if they came today and he had gotten all the OWLs required for his dream job, an Auror, or dark wizard hunter, for the Ministry of Magic  
  
Finishing this thought, he turned to see seven owls come swooping in through his windows, spreading the curtains wide. One of the owls was his own beautiful, snowy owl, Hedwig, whom he had sent to The Order of the Phoenix headquarters in London. He recognized one of the others as Pigwidgeon, his friend Ron's owl. Ron's brother Percy's owl, Hermes, was also there. Harry didn't recognize the other four owls, two tawny and two barn owls. They landed gracefully on his bed. Harry reached up and stroked Hedwig, she hooted affectionately.  
  
Hedwig held out her leg, to which was tied a large and heavy package, and Harry untied it. He was especially eager to see what the Order had to say. He had written to them earlier that week, asking what was going on and when they would get him out of there. He already knew that the letter would be empty of any important information, because there was always the risk of the letter being intercepted and falling into the wrong hands, especially now. He was hoping for at least a clue of when he would be leaving the suffocating walls of number four Privet Drive. Harry unwrapped the package Hedwig had been carrying, and a letter fell out. He was overwhelmed with happiness at the sight of Remus Lupin's handwriting as he unfolded the parchment. Sirius, Lupin, and the traitor Wormtail, who was now working in Voldemort's inner circle, had all been friends with Harry's father, James, before he was killed. Next to Sirius, Lupin was the closest thing he had to a father figure, and to his own father. Harry read Lupin's letter.  
  
Harry-  
  
There is no need to tell you that we cannot give you very much information through writing, you already know this much. However, I can confidently say that you will be removed form your Aunt and Uncles house sometime in the next fortnight. We all look forward to seeing you again soon! Happy Birthday! We all pitched in to get your present. Hope that it will help you, not only in your studies, but in the rough times ahead.  
  
-Remus Lupin  
  
In the package carried by Hedwig, Harry found four books. They were the first in a set of encyclopedias of Magic. Harry turned and saw that two other owls, a tawny and a barn owl, were both carrying similar packages. Upon opening them he found eight more books, completing the set. He thought of how useful these would be, not only would it save him quite a few trips to the library, but somewhere in one of these books there had to be a way of defeating the Dark Lord.  
  
There was another thing Harry was avoiding thinking about. At the end of his last year at Hogwarts, Harry found out that there was a prophecy declaring that he was the only one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord, and that in the end only one of them could live. It was kill or be killed, and that was a very heavy burden for a sixteen year old to have to bear.  
  
Harry next took the package from Pigwidgeon who was zooming around frantically. First he read Ron's letter, containing birthday greetings and, of course, zero news. Ron's present was a large box of assorted Honeyduke's sweets.  
  
He was very surprised to see Hermes, Percy's owl, in his room. The last he had heard from Percy was towards the beginning of ht e previous year when he had sent Ron an owl advising him to sever ties with Harry. Percy was the assistant to the minister if magic, Cornelius Fudge. Last year, instead of believing Dumbledore and his stories of Voldemort' regaining his body, they tired to discredit them as much as possible, thinking they were spreading attention seeking lies. In the package from Hermes he found two slips of parchment, a letter from Percy, and one from Fred and George, as well as a skiving snackbox.  
  
Harry-   
  
I wanted to apologize on behalf of the entire Ministry for not believing your stories of He-who-must-not-be-named's return. Surely you can understand why we would not want to accept what this would mean. I extend my deepest regret for my treatment of you in the past year. The Ministry is taking measures to ensure that You-know-who's reign of terror will not last, though, regrettably, I cannot disclose as to what those steps are. The Minister himself should be visiting you soon, I leave the reason why to be a surprise. I hope to see you again sometime soon, perhaps you might like to some visit me in London? Happy Birthday Harry! Congratulations on the OWLs!  
  
Sincerely-  
  
Percy  
  
Harry was grateful for Percy's apology, although he had not felt too great a loss before. His heart leapt as he read the last sentence, did he know something Harry did not, had he already seen his test results? He was confused by the bit about Fudge coming to visit him, what did Percy mean by it?   
  
Next he read Fred and George's letter. "Business could not be better!"..."Hope you enjoy the skiving snackbox, might come in handy next year! Spread the word around Hogwarts about Weasley's Wizarding Weezes!"..."We owe all of our success to you! Have a great Birthday!!".  
  
A barn owl hoped it's way across Harry's bed to him, eager to be next. It carried another package similar to the ones form the order. This was from Hermione, her letter said that she also hoped that her gift would come in handy at school, but mostly she wanted him to learn about what happened during Voldemort's last reign, and perhaps, with the information, he would be able foresee what his plans were to gain power this time. The contents of this package were another three books, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Modern Magical History, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.  
  
Hope was rising in the pit of Harry's stomach. With all of this information, with so many people's help, how could he not find a way to survive and to banish his dark, murderous rival from the face of the earth. How could he fail?  
  
The last owl had a poorly wrapped present, a letter from Hagrid, and an official looking Hogwarts letter. Upon unwrapping the shabby gift he found that Hagrid had also gotten him a book, A Guide to Magical Creatures. Hagrid was fascinated, even obsessed with magical creatures, the more dangerous, the cuter he thought they were! Harry thought back to his previous encounters with Voldemort. Once, he had fought a basilisk, with the help of a phoenix. Last year he was aided by thestrals. Not to mention all the times he had come across dragons, three-headed dogs, blast ended-screwts, sphinxes, and many other creatures on the way! There was no way he was going to lose against Voldemort, not when he had so many of his friends backing him up. He knew that he'd be reading non-stop for the rest of the summer, but he didn't have anything else to do while he was stuck in Privet Drive. He was grateful to anything that would help him!  
  
Harry picked up the Hogwarts letter, in the excitement of his birthday gifts, he had forgotten all about the OWLs. His heart gave a leap as he remembered and realized what this letter must be. With hands shaking with anticipation, he tore open the envelope...  
  
End Of Chapter One!!!! Chapter two will come as soon as possible!!! 


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